To Keep the Gossip Down
by damseldoingdamage
Summary: Just a one-shot I wrote about the aftermath of Rhett's promise to Scarlett. Takes place after the completion of the novel. I am thinking about making this a multi-chapter fic, depending on it's reception, so tell me what you think!
1. Chapter 1

**This fic is very near and dear to my heart. It helped me through the grieving process of finishing America's greatest novel, and I like to pretend that this is what happened, and that "Scarlett" (The MOST insulting sequel of all time) is not ;) **

**Please enjoy! **

He did not love her. Not anymore, anyway. He wasn't transfixed by her sharp emerald eyes. He was not addicted to watching her midnight locks slowly tumble down, splay out in waves and leave goose bumps on the bare flesh of her back when she let it down while changing for bed. Scarlett O'Hara most certainly did not hold his beating heart in the palm of her tiny, pale, and well-manicured hand. The heart to speak of, did not beat for her and her alone.

No- Rhett Butler was not in love with Scarlett O'Hara Hamilton Kennedy Butler. He just pretended to be, to keep the gossip down.

He pretended to crave her touch in public, when they were out at gatherings. Rhett would pull her indecently close to his imposingly tall and muscularly built frame and keep her there the whole evening, adamantly refusing to let her dance with anyone else. Scarlett's head would rest right on his heart, and that fact did not at all make it beat faster...No, the never ceasing dancing was to blame for that. The slender arms that wrapped around his midsection tightly did not remind him of better times, when they had held each other in the same way in the privacy of their **_shared_** bedroom. The man who was not in love pretended to adore roaming his hands along her arms, hips and waist, while they danced or just stood and mingled. Only to keep the gossip down.

On nights when they were alone in the house, the children in bed, servants nowhere to be found, and her sitting across from him drinking coffee, he told himself all of this. Then she would look meekly up at him, abandoning her belle of the county ways and begging him wordlessly to touch her again, never matter how brief. And he did. Only to keep the gossip down.

As he would stand from his chair, abandoning his whiskey on the table and striding toward her with a determination that rivaled a hungry lions, she would inwardly scream in agonizing impatience. He would hold his arm out to her, and when she took it, pressing her tiny frame against his side desperately, (Not that either of them noticed) tucking her hand tightly into the bend of his elbow and resting her head right below his shoulder, he did not sigh of relief. No- Rhett Butler sighed in pity. Pity for the poor girl who was in love with him when she could not have him.

They would mount the stairs together, side by side, broken soul by broken heart, and they would wordlessly agree to remain silent until necessary, in a pathetic attempt to spare themselves their dignity. When they finally reached her room, he would kiss her hand before turning to leave. Without fail, every night, one of them would break.

He would spin around rapidly, coat tail flying, to the sight of a softly closing door, cry out softly for her to wait, and the door would open again before she flung herself into his awaiting arms.

Other times, as he was retreating to the solitude of his room across the hall, she would watch for a nanosecond before whispering his name in a quiet, longing, pleading way.

"Rhett-" She would hesitantly drawl.

She rarely got past this point in the perfectly rehearsed and executed performance before he would bend her in his grip and assault her lips with his.

When they woke in the mornings, her silky strands of hair wrapped around his throat, his arms firmly around her mid-section, and breaths softly mingling, he would drop his face into her neck, inhale softly and pretend to be pretending.

Eventually the game they played would end. He knew it, and she knew it too. Eventually true feelings would surface, and the denial would be forced away. This dangerously consuming war of emotions would continue until it could no longer do so- and they were happy to let it. As long as it kept the gossip down.


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, here is chapter two of 'To Keep the Gossip down.' I'm not terribly happy with this chapter, probably because I wrote the first one over the course of a year, and this over a few days. Please don't hesitate to give me pointers and notes, they make my day!**

**To my lovely reviewers, thank you for your wonderful words of encouragement! Reading your thoughts propelled me in to continuing this story, and I hope you enjoy the outcome! This chapter may seem similar to the first in the beginning, but I wanted to establish Scarlett's perspective before furthering the plot. Around the middle of the chapter is when it picks up and continues. **

The greatest pain known to man is to love someone who used to love you. Scarlett O'Hara Hamilton Kennedy Butler was sure of this, because she experienced it daily. If only she had realized in time. If only. People still talked, she knew. Despite her husband's best efforts at pretending. Scarlett was sick of the speculation, and she was sick of the charade. Rhett was everything she never knew she needed, and now that she knew it, he was gone. Or so she thought. Until he came back, mustache and eyes as dark as ever. She reveled in the affection he showered on her in public. Ignoring the fact that it was forced, because it _so_ didn't feel like it. Because she was desperate? Or because it wasn't? Scarlett was sure she would never know, and maybe that was for the best, considering the tediousness of their treaty. She agreed to leave him be at home, and he agreed to play the role of doting husband. This rarely happened, however, and much to both party's chagrin, they couldn't find it in themselves to care. Somehow, by the end of each night, they found themselves in one another's embrace, one convincing himself he was just a man with carnal needs, the other that she was loved by the man she lay with.

The two would have been happy to continue on like this indefinitely. They probably would have, too, if it weren't for the undeniably out of character interactions that began on the eve of the anniversary of Bonnie's death. For starters, Scarlett rejected the family's invitation to dine with the Meade's. Instead, she called the house down to the first family dinner they had shared in years.

"Mother, is everything okay?" Wade suspiciously questioned.

Scarlett smiled tightly, nodding her head and patting his shoulder. "Yes dear. I just thought this would be a nice change in pace."

Shrugging, the young boy took a place on one side of the table. Ella sat across from him quietly, and Rhett sat at the head of the table without a word. Scarlett took her seat at the other end, and looked hesitantly at her mute family.

"How was school?" She eventually blurted.

Ella jumped and dropped her fork, and Wade choked on his chicken. Rhett simply looked up coolly, a slight smirk on his face.

"It... It was fine mother." Ella murmured, glaring at her brother who was still gagging.

Scarlett smiled tentatively. "Any exams?"

At this point, Rhett stopped eating and leaned back, grinning like a mad man. Scarlett kicked him before turning back to her scared daughter.

"History and Mathematics." She said, looking at her plate.

"I had a book report." Wade chimed in.

"How did you do?" Scarlett pursued.

"Um..Which one of us?"

"Both of you!" She exclaimed perkily.

An hour later, the table was cleared off completely, with the exception of Scarlett and Rhett's nightcaps. The children had scampered up to bed as soon as they could, leaving Scarlett looking hopefully at her husband.

"How bad was it?"

"Au Contraire, it was very pleasurable to watch." He drawled.

"I'm serious!" She whined, stamping her foot. (Or trying, since her foot barely reached the floor.)

"As am I."

She sighed heavily, taking a sip of her drink. "I suppose it is rather late to begin making an effort, it's just that lately-"

"You've begun to realize how bad of a mother you are?" A mocking smile graced his face.

She didn't deny it. "You know what tomorrow is. It just dawned on me, that I still have them. I might as well make the best of it. Not every relationship I have is irreparable."

Rhett tensed at the mention of his late daughter, eyes darkening considerably as she went on. He snorted rudely, bringing an end to her explanation. Glaring at him, she crossed her arms.

"I'm not arguing with you on this Rhett Butler. I am going to fix my relationship with my children. If you think that's stupid, don't have to join us next time."

He looked at her in surprise, before putting a neutral expression back on his face.

"Like I would miss a repeat of this entertainment. Are you ready to retire? I think I will head on up."

Scarlett rose from her seat and took his offered arm. As they walked down the halls and up the stairs, she wondered who would break first tonight. He submitted to her yesterday, and she supposed it was her turn. Swallow your pride. The mantra repeated over again in her mind. He dropped her at her room before turning to his door. Hesitating. She saw it. He was waiting for her to say something, she knew it. The sag of his shoulders greeted her silence.

"Rhett, wait please." She pleaded.

He paused with his hand on the door and turned to see her standing there, big green eyes begging. Taking a step towards him, she opened her mouth to speak.

"Would you..."

Blushing, she paused mid-sentence and shrugged her shoulders. He usually interrupted her by now. Looking her up and down, he sighed before sticking out his hand. Gratefully, she took it in her own and allowed him to pull her. Past his grand mahogany door, past the sitting area and to his king sized bed. She kissed him softly before turning to his closet, pulling out a nightgown she had left weeks ago.

After he had helped her undress, she pulled the slip over her head and turned towards him. She reached out to him, smoothing his shoulders and nimbly undoing each button on his shirt. As she reached for his belt, his hands caught hers gently. Her eyes snapped up to meet his dark gaze.

"I'm not really in the mood tonight, Scarlett." He murmured gently.

"Oh. Okay, that's fine."

A mortified blush spread across her face, head ducking in shame. But as she turned, a hand shot out to grab her arm.

"You can...Well, you could stay anyhow, I suppose...If you wanted to, you know." He stuttered.

Scarlett stared up at him in wonder. Rhett _never _hesitated before speaking, and he never finished a request with the words, "_If you want to._" He looked down at her awe-struck face. He glared at her.

"Or not. Stop gaping at me like a fool."

"No, I'd...I would like too."

She nodded decisively before marching to 'her side' of the bed and yanking back the covers. Rhett grinned to himself and followed silently. He climbed in beside her, leaving about a foot between the two. Out of her peripheral vision, Scarlett saw him staring at the celling with his arms plastered to his sides. A loud scoff sounded in the deathly quiet room, before she scooted closer, pulling his heavy arm over her shoulder and placing her head on his shoulder. F

"Just because we didn't _consort_ does not mean that things have to be any more uncomfortable than they usually are." She huffed out forcefully.

When he didn't respond, she rolled over to prop herself up on his chest. His hands went to play with the ends of her hair, and his stare met hers.

"Tomorrow," He began, "I have plans to visit her. Bonnie."

She nodded softly, her nails raking soothingly on his arm. "Would you like to accompany me?"

"I would like that, yes."

She smiled at him weakly. Cautiously, he returned her smile. With gentle hands, he turned them to face the left, her back pressed firmly against him. On arm was wrapped possessively around her waist, and the other was stretched out with her head resting his upper arm.

"Rhett?" She whispered.

"Yes?"

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight Scarlett."


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for the wait everyone! I have finally chosen a specific direction for this story- each chapter is going to be rather one-shotish, not necessarily covering every event. (A lot of information will be given through dialogue.) Some more news that should make you as happy as it did me: No more word pad! I now own Microsoft Word, and will be using the much needed spell check. I'm going to fix the embarrassing errors in the previous chapters as well. Okay- on with the story! **

**(Skipping the grave scene to a few weeks later) **

This was a bad idea; Rhett knew the minute he woke up that morning. As per (the rather new) usual, he and Scarlett were entangled completely, his body laying halfway on top of hers possessively, her desperately clutching on to him in her sleep. It would be nearly impossible for him to remove himself from her admittedly very comfortable clutches. What had he been thinking anyway? Birthday or not, when you metaphorically name it, you get attached to it. Rhett was not about to fall back into old habits, and that included spoiling his petulant wife. He told himself this as he carefully got up, slipped on his slippers, and snuck out of his bedroom to go do that very thing.

"Scarlett."

A deep voice broke into the young woman's slumber, causing her to mumble irritably to herself.

"Scarlett."

The sound was closer now, right above her. She felt a heavy hand fall to her shoulder to jostle her slightly.

"Scarlett!"

She flew into a sitting position, eyes wide and breath catching. Her eyes calmed when she saw her husband standing next to her, amused smile on his face.

"Good morning, my pet. Happy birthday."

"Good morning-"A yawn forced its way out of her lips.

"Uh, here. The children and I told everyone exactly how to make it."

Scarlett smiled happily as he presented her with a tray of her favorite breakfast foods, allowing him to place it gingerly on her lap. She hastily pecked his cheek as he was bent over her, and asked him to bring the children in happily. As Rhett made the march down the hall, a grin spread across his face. Maybe it hadn't been such a bad idea after all.


End file.
